Ochre-processing workshop (paint compound)
Taller de procesado de pigmento (mezcla de ocre en conchas)
- Date
- c. 100 ka · confidence high
- Place
- Blombos Cave, Western Cape, South Africa
- Credited to
- Homo sapiens
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
Two abalone shells containing a mixture of ground ochre, charred bone, charcoal and a liquid, alongside grinding stones. The first documented chemical recipe and the first storage toolkit.
What it led to
- Planned production and storage of paint
- Deliberate combination of ingredients: recipe-based thinking
- Containers as an object category
Built on
- Ochre pigment usec. 300 ka
- Ochre pigment use
Made possible
- Abstract geometric engraving on ochrec. 75 ka
- Ostrich eggshell water containersc. 60 ka
- Figurative cave artc. 51 ka
- Figurative cave art
- Ostrich eggshell water containers